A Tragedy, To Be Sure
by Sarah1281
Summary: When King Endrin is on his deathbed, Rica hears the rumors of Bhelen's involvement in his siblings' fate and Bhelen is quick to tell her what REALLY happened and how he can't help but feel a little responsible...


A Tragedy, To Be Sure

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age.

Note: I'm fully aware that Bhelen's version of events isn't really what happened, but when I played DC and she was slandering the DN (which I had just finished right before), she mentioned the version she heard from him. Not to mention how Bhelen apparently cried for weeks after Endrin sent him away, which amused my still-Aeducan mindset quite a bit. :p

When Bhelen returned to his quarters that evening after a long day of building up his support among the merchants and being stonewalled by Harrowmont, a nervous and heavily pregnant Rica was waiting for him.

"H-hello, my Lord Bhelen," she stammered, looking somewhat more ill at ease than usual.

"I told you, Rica, you don't need to call me that when we're in private," Bhelen said patiently. "I'm not _Trian_ after all."

Rica wasn't quite sure what he meant by that but elected not to bring up Bhelen's tragically murdered older brother. "Yes, my L-Bhelen," Rica corrected herself, still not quite meeting the other dwarf's eyes.

Bhelen narrowed his eyes. "Did something happen?" he asked suspiciously.

"Not exactly," Rica replied uncertainly.

"Did someone say something to you?" Bhelen demanded. "You needn't let that bother you; pettiness is sadly a defining trait of the nobility and I've long since learned not to listen."

"It's not **me** they were talking about," Rica admitted softly.

Comprehension dawned in Bhelen's eyes. "They said something about me, then? That's hardly surprising. The Aeducans have been on the throne for so long that the other Houses have practically given up any hope of that changing." Rica's expression didn't change, so he continued, "Was it really that bad?"

Rica hesitated. "They said…"

"Yes?" Bhelen prompted, wishing she would just spit it out so he could deal with it.

"They said that you were actually the one to murder Prince Trian and that you framed Princess Aunn," Rica burst out.

"Did they?" Bhelen asked wryly. He hadn't heard anyone actually daring to voice that suspicion aloud, although he was willing to bet Harrowmont was dropping hints every time the matter came up. This could potentially be a problem. "Do you know who said this?"

Rica shook her head, looking embarrassed. "No. I still have a lot of difficulty keeping track of all the various nobles I've encountered."

"You'll get there," Bhelen encouraged. "To think, my father's on his deathbed and people would start such a vile rumor…"

"Then…it's not true?" Rica sounded almost painfully hopeful.

"Do you doubt me?" Bhelen asked sharply. That was unexpected.

"Of course not!" Rica exclaimed. "It's just good to hear. They sounded so certain about what they were saying…"

"You've lost your sister recently, haven't you?" Bhelen asked suddenly.

Rica looked down again, unconsciously digging her nails into her palm. "Yes. I don't even know if Sereda is still alive."

"Then you can understand my feelings. Aunn might still be alive – though I doubt it – but she can never return to Orzammar so I'll never know. Trian is dead and let me assure that that seeing the body of your sibling is a very …" Bhelen trailed off, searching for the right word. "_Difficult_ experience."

"You were actually there when Prince Trian was discovered?" Rica couldn't have looked more horrified at the thought.

"Oh, yes," Bhelen confirmed grimly. "For all that I love both of my siblings and was very upset at what became of them, this whole thing could very well be called my fault."

Rica gasped. "What do you mean?"

"Trian and Aunn never got along," Bhelen began, knowing just how much of an understatement that was. "Trian was Father's heir but Aunn had always been able to make people love her. The Assembly was considering choosing her for the next ruler of Orzammar and that **infuriated** Trian, not the least because Aunn seemed hardly aware of any of this and spent much of her time trying to talk our father into letting her go play Grey Warden. As time went on, t heir relationship only got worse and I grew worried."

"Family conflict is always distressing," Rica agreed knowingly, clearly thinking back to problems her own family had had. If Bhelen had to guess, he'd say her drunk of a mother was involved in most of the inner conflicts the Brosca family had.

"Of course, as you have undoubtably realized by now, dwarven politics isn't a very nice business but there are limits to how far you can go," Bhelen continued. "Or, at least, there are supposed to be."

"Did someone go too far?" Rica inquired.

Bhelen nodded. "Yes. Or rather, they hadn't yet but I thought that they would. Aunn mostly just ignored Trian aside from insisting that he treat her second more respectfully and letting him know he had no say in her actions. Her fascination with the Grey Wardens meant that she was, at the time, perfectly happy letting Trian be the heir. Eventually, she may have grown bored with the Wardens, but even if she hadn't the thought that she could still end up becoming Queen without even really wanting the position was too much for Trian. I honestly thought he was going to kill her."

"But…Prince Trian was the one who died, not Princess Aunn," Rica objected.

"I knew that if Trian's plot was discovered then he would face repercussions, but it would be his own actions he would be held accountable for," Bhelen continued as if he didn't hear her. "What I didn't count on was Aunn's reaction to the possibility of being threatened. I don't know if Trian was really plotting against Aunn but in warning my sister I sealed my brother's fate."

Rica had been wondering why the future King of Orzammar would be confiding in her, of all people, on such a personal matter but now she could see that he just needed someone who would listen without judging and to believe him without question. She was happy to be able to do that much for the one who had done so much for her. "You can't blame yourself," she said firmly.

"Can't I?" Bhelen replied rhetorically. "I have no reason to believe Aunn would have moved against Trian if it hadn't been for me."

"If just a rumor was enough to spur her on she was likely to have been considering it anyway," Rica reasoned. "And even if you hadn't, then Prince Trian might have killed Princess Aunn. You were only trying to help."

"He might have moved against her or he might not have. I know she did," Bhelen countered.

"I am so sorry," Rica said sincerely. What she was hearing made her own past family problems between her desperately defiant sister and her belittling alcoholic mother seem like nothing in comparison. "I can't even imagine."

Bhelen smiled sadly at her. "I never would have thought either of them were capable of fratricide, you know, and in hindsight that was my mistake. It was more believable of Trian due to his open hostility and rather violent tendencies, but it was still all quite shocking. To find out that Aunn was just as ruthless if not more so…I thought I knew them. By the Ancestors, was the throne really that important?" he burst out.

"How do you know that that's what happened?" Rica asked, trying to find some way to make this make sense for him. "Maybe Prince Trian did attack first and his death was self-defense."

"It _would_ be easier if the sibling who died was the guilty one," Bhelen acknowledged. "But that was simply not the case. There were witnesses, you see. My sister's second claimed that they had just arrived on the scene moments before to find Trian already dead, but although he was a very honorable man it was well-known that he would have done anything for Aunn so we couldn't take him at his word. There was a scout there who claimed Aunn ambushed Trian and killed him – a charge for which Aunn killed him for – and-"

"She killed a witness?" Rica was so stunned she was hardly aware that she was interrupting. "That's definitely not innocent behavior."

"She killed the scout because he besmirched her honor," Bhelen corrected. "It had nothing to do with whether she was innocent or guilty and no one was alarmed at all. He was of a lower caste, after all, and so legally his word was not enough. There was also a minor noble there and when he corroborated the deceased scout's story…that was enough."

"So there's no question of her guilt, then?" Rica asked.

"None whatsoever," Bhelen confirmed, "as much as it pains me to say it."

"Then why do people keep saying such horrible things?" Rica demanded, inadvertently revealing that this wasn't the first time she had heard that particular rumor.

"I don't know, Rica," Bhelen answered tiredly. "I was always overshadowed by my siblings – not that I minded because they were both very important to me – and now that I'm the only one left, people think they can get me out of the way by convincing my father I was involved in what happened to Trian and Aunn so the throne will be up for grabs."

"But if he's so sick, surely people cannot get an audience with King Endrin," Rica objected.

" 'People', no," Bhelen agreed. "It may already be too late, though. I was already sent away. To think these ugly rumors are keeping me from my dying father…" He paused before deciding to go all in. "I cried for weeks."

Rica's eyes softened. "Bhelen…"

"The only person who does have unrestrained access to my father is Lord Harrowmont and while that would certainly explain a great deal…" Bhelen mused aloud, before vehemently shaking his head. "But no, he's my father's closest friend. He wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what?" Rica asked, intrigued.

"Harrowmont always respected my brother as his future King but he, like everyone, **loved** my sister," Bhelen confided. He snorted. "She could have been found standing over Trian covered in blood and stabbing him while screaming 'the throne will be mine' and Harrowmont would still insist she was innocent. So might Father, actually."

"That sounds a little extreme," Rica confessed.

"Perhaps," Bhelen allowed. **"**There's nothing wrong with being overly fond of someone, but I fear what it may have lead to. My father's wasting away from grief because Aunn's gone and no one else has anything to gain from getting my siblings out of the way since, to my knowledge, no one's seriously come after me. If Aunn _were_ innocent, I would have the most to gain from framing her and killing Trian. I can understand why he'd think that and I don't blame him."

"But you didn't," Rica said and it wasn't a question.

"I didn't," Bhelen confirmed. "But if Harrowmont wanted to hold onto his false hope and kept the conspiracy theories to himself, we wouldn't have a problem. Poisoning my father's mind against me, however, is not acceptable. I can't really bring myself to believe he's using my family's tragedy to try and steal our throne but…if he does…I'll be ready. I never sought the throne, but the duty to lead Orzammar has, against all odds, fallen to me and I will do my duty. I owe my father and my siblings that much for my role in what happened."

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